A Breath of Fresh Air
by PrincessWaterlily33
Summary: As a young recruit, Judy struggles to find her place in the rebellion... though she might just find something else through her quest to belong.
1. The Night Sky

It wasn't often that a Bright Moon night was anything but quiet. The capital of the rebellion just had that sort of soft and quiet aura to it at night, even without anyone wandering the halls on patrol. However, this came with one small downside: on the rare occasion that someone was still up in the wee hours of the night, everyone was bound to know. For most, this just meant not to get up unless it was absolutely necessary; for Judy, it just meant to take quieter steps.

Slipping on her new sweater, she stared down the door for a solid ten seconds, listening intently for anyone else's footsteps. She needed a breath of fresh air right about now, and a conversation was needed just as much as another Horde invasion. So it's a good thing the coast was clear. Nudging her bedroom door open the tiniest bit, she slipped through the small gap and shut it just as carefully, shuffling along until she found a nice open balcony. Leaning against the rail, she took a sharp breath of night air, letting out all the garbage that had built up in her chest. "Finally," she murmured, just in time for Adora to hear.

Maybe it was all those years of Horde training, but Adora had always been a ridiculously light sleeper. The faintest echoes could break the peace of her slumber, even something as quiet as socks sliding along the marble floors. Judy had come to both love and hate this; when she needed Adora, she was bound to be up before her doors were even open, but that also meant sneaking out was near impossible. "Finally what?"

It probably goes without saying that Judy nearly had a heart attack. Turns out she wasn't quite as alone as she had hoped, and after catching herself on the railing and steadying her breath, she turned around with a heavy blush and a shameful frown. Eye contact was out of the question right now. "... H-Hey Adora. I just, um... I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to get some fresh air. Sorry if I woke you up."

"No, it's... It's fine. I know you didn't mean to... and I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Adora stretched her arms a tiny bit, coming over and joining Judy at the railing. She kept a solid meter or so between them, unsure of how comfortable Judy would be with a hug, or even an arm around the shoulder; it was better just not to try for now. "... So. Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm... I'm fine, it's all good. You know how it is," Judy tried to assure her, adding in a light chuckle for good measure. Even so, she knew that that wouldn't fool anyone, not even Kyle. And he believed that Hordak made pants illegal once.

"... No, you're not. C'mon, what's bugging you? There's gotta be something... Is it the Horde?"

The young recruit sighed, pacing back and forth for a few seconds before finally answering Adora's question. "I just... This is probably gonna sound stupid, 'cause I already went outta my way and risked everything to join the rebellion, but I don't even know what I can do to help. I sure as heck don't belong out there on the front lines, I'm squishier than a marshmallow. And like... I came from the Horde in the first place. Is anyone really gonna trust me to fight them now?"

"Judy, it doesn't matter where you're from, or what you can do; anyone can help fight the Horde! I mean, look at me, I was in the Horde for as long as I could remember. They even made me a Force Captain, and I'm still fighting back now!"

"But that's not-" Judy took a deep breath, clasping her hands together in front of her and squeezing tightly. "Adora, I- I get it. You wanna inspire me 'cause we came from the same kinda background, I can't blame you for that. But there's a difference between you and me! You're She-Ra, a warrior princess of legend, and I'm a ten-piece Chicken McNobody! I barely kept myself from not being fired, and I don't even know how!" Judy threw her hands up in exasperation, plopping down onto the nearest bench and resting her chin in her palm. "I appreciate it, don't get me wrong. It just... The sentiment feels a bit transparent."

The silence hung in the air for a short while, and Adora soon joined Judy on the bench, not saying a word. Instead, she just took Judy's free hand, squeezing it ever so gently. Needless to say, her cheeks lit up a bright red at this... but she didn't try and push Adora away. In fact, she leaned into it a bit, resting her head on Adora's shoulder. "... Sorry, Adora. That was rude of me to shut you down like that."

"No, no, there's no need to apologize. You're right. Most everyone I've met has already been a good fighter, or they've got some sort of magic. I shouldn't keep my approach the same for you." Adora smiled a bit, gladly letting Judy lean into her. "If you want... I could give you lessons every now and then. I can't promise any sort of consistent schedule... but I can try."

"Thanks, Adora... but it's fine. It's not like nobody else here can train me... Your schedule's busy enough as it is."

"If you insist." The two of them sat there for a few more seconds before Adora started to gently pull away. "So... You good now? 'Cause you've sorta got bags under your eyes, and I don't want you losing any more sleep than you have to."

"I, uh... I think I need a minute, if that's fine." Judy pulled Adora a bit closer, not quite wanting her to leave just yet. While their situations were entirely different, she did indeed feel a sense of solidarity with Adora, since they both left the Horde behind and all that. Or at least... That's what she kept telling herself it was. Feelings and emotions were dumb and weird; that was probably the only thing Hordak was ever right about.

"Take all the time you need." Adora lightly chuckled, running a hand through Judy's hair to calm her just a bit more. Judy was... an interesting recruit. She was just about as old as the best friend squad, and yet... She felt so much younger at the same time, as if she was just some frightened little girl that needed to know everything was alright. There was a warrior under there; she just needed time to blossom.

Though she didn't want to break the silence, Judy eventually got up, taking Adora's hand again. "... Thanks for coming out and sitting with me. If, ah... If you've got the time, would you maybe wanna grab lunch tomorrow? Like, together?"

Admittedly, Adora was taken aback by the offer, but she quickly came to her senses and smiled back at Judy. "Yeah... I'd love that." A lingering thought sat in the back of her mind, of someone else who had been struggling with that same sort of thing. But the solid details escaped her, so she brushed that off for now, walking Judy back to her room. "See you tomorrow, J," Adora said as one last goodnight, giving Judy a quick hug before heading to bed and pondering their friendly hang-out tomorrow.

Judy had to immediately get herself into bed when she had said goodnight to Adora, just to stop herself from jumping for joy. Somehow, on one of her worst nights, she had worked up the courage to ask Adora on a date... and she said yes. Maybe things were finally looking up.


	2. Raindrops and Roses

It wasn't often that Judy spent much time in front of the mirror; her reflection reminded her far too much of her days in the Fright Zone. Half portions leaving her underfed, punishments leaving visible marks on her arms and back, and that damned emblem all served as reminders that she wasn't significant in the grand scheme of things. And while the Rebellion had helped her crack through that mindset, she hardly ever spent any time with her reflection until today. She didn't want to look bad on her date with Adora, after all.

The weather was admittedly less than ideal, but Judy had no intentions of cancelling their date because of a little rain. They'd just have to eat inside, which wasn't that much of a problem in her eyes. Still, though, she had to dress accordingly, so her outfit that she had planned the night before was out of the question; instead, she settled for a pair of skinny jeans, a black tank top, a pink and red flannel, and a simple pair of orange and purple running shoes that she thought looked cute. She barely touched on makeup, mostly because she had no idea how to use any of it, and she left her hair mostly the same, with one small change: she parted it to show more of her face, instead of covering her left eye. It wasn't often that she did that, but if they were going on a date, Adora probably wanted to see her whole face.

Just the thought of Adora made her heart flutter. Whether she was in She-Ra form or not, she was breathtakingly cute, and the way she carried herself with such confidence made Judy swoon. And that was just the beginning of the list. She could probably go on all day just thinking about the ways Adora enchanted her, but if she did that, she'd miss her date; so instead, she just grabbed her purse and hurried off to meet her. One knock on the door, then another... then a third for good measure. She didn't want to seem impatient, though, so she just waited from that point on until the doors opened. Adora looked... well, exactly the same as usual, which was just as breathtaking by Judy's standards.

"Hey Adora~!" She chirped, giving a quick wave and reaching for her hand. Adora gladly accepted the offer, still trying to recover from a moment of initial shock.

"H-Hey Judy! I, ah, didn't expect you to get dressed up... Is it fine if I just wear my regular outfit to lunch?"

"Yeah, of course," Judy assured her, chuckling a tiny bit. "I don't mind it at all. I just got a bit excited, is all." With that out of the way, Judy led Adora through the halls of Bright Moon, humming softly the whole time.

Unfortunately, small talk wasn't one of Judy's strengths, and Adora struggled just as much with it. Eventually, though, she bit the bullet. "So... This weather, huh?"

"I know, right? Total shame that the one day it decides to rain is the same day we were gonna have lunch," Judy responded, giggling a bit to ease the tension. She was beginning to go into a bit of a panic; sure, she loved talking to Adora, but the conversations typically started themselves, one way or another. She never had to take initiative like this! She just had to think, and maybe she could keep their chatter alive...

"Oh, totally! Sucks that there's no princess that controls the weather or something. Or even like, a fire princess to keep us dry," Adora joked, having found a way to keep the conversation alive. It was a shame Judy had no way of elaborating, since Adora was the one with the princess knowledge... Oh, wait. That was perfect.

"Yeah, bit of a shame... Speaking of, how do princesses get their powers, anyway? Are they born with them, do they need to train, do they have like a source for their magic? What's the deal?"

"Judy, you probably picked the worst princess to ask about that," Adora prefaced with a slight chuckle. "I just picked up a sword one day, had some visions, and bam, I'm the hero princess of legend. But... For the most part, princesses have a runestone that has a specific sort of power to it, whether that has to do with plants, shadows, ice, or in my case, just being really strong. The runestones can act as a charging station if a princess runs out of her magic, but that really only happens to Glimmer."

"Ohhh, I get it. So wait- Actually, I don't know if I do. You said shadows in there. Does that mean Shadow Weaver's a princess?!"

"Well, no. If someone has a good enough understanding of magic, they can tap into the power of the runestone. Princesses just have a pre-determined bond with their runestones."

Judy still wasn't too sure she got it; all this talk of runestones was making her head hurt for whatever reason, and she didn't know how long she wanted to dwell on it. So she figured it was best to lie. "Ohh, okay, that makes sense."

Soon enough, the two of them had reached a slight roadblock. That is to say, they had just gotten to the main entrance of the castle, and now had to run out into the rain without an umbrella. Judy was all open to running back to get one, but Adora had different plans.

"... On three. One-"

"Wait, Adora, what are you-"

"Two..." She drew the Sword of Protection, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh my stars are you really gonna-"

"THREE!" Next thing Judy knew, She-Ra was sprinting through the rain, carrying her bridal style to somewhat shield her from the rain. While it otherwise would've been a walk of maybe a few minutes, the two of them arrived at a nice diner within thirty seconds tops, the two of them giggling uncontrollably as Adora changed back to her regular self.

"Adora, that was... possibly the MOST... UNNECESSARY TIME... to turn into She-Ra..." Judy could barely even get that sentence out, too busy giggling and blushing. It had been hilarious at the time, but holy shit, Adora had carried her bridal style. Just to keep her from getting wet.

"I know, I know... But it was worth it," she teased, lightly elbowing Judy and taking her inside the diner. "Table for two, please."


End file.
